Complications Persist For Plaza De Panama Project

Above: Welton Jones, member of the Balboa Park Committee of 100, and David Marshall, the city of San Diego's preservation consultant for the Plaza de Panama project, debate the plans to change Balboa Park.

Response to National Park Service Letter

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A letter to the city of San Diego from the National Park Service says the plan to remove cars from the center of Balboa Park could put the park's designation as a national historical landmark at risk. But supporters of the Plaza de Panama plan say the letter is nothing more than a scare tactic.

David Marshall, the city's preservation consultant for the project, told KPBS the National Park Service's letter does not directly say the park could lose its historic landmark status. He added the city confirmed with the National Parks that this scenario was not realistic.

"The said they felt if it was an issue or a concern, it would have been in the letter," he said. "It was intentionally not in the letter. So my problem with the scare tactics is it's the gap between the reality of the letter and how the opponents are using the letter and interpreting the letter for their benefit."

The plan calls for closing the Cabrillo Bridge to cars and instead diverting traffic around the back of the Museum of Man on a to-be-constructed bridge. The plan would also build an underground parking lot in the middle of the park.

Welton Jones, a member of the Committee of 100, one of the groups that oppose the plan, said the car-traffic bridge and parking lot "commit you to allowing cars to continue to come in."

He said the better solution is to add more public transportation to bring visitors into the park from parking areas outside.

"That's the plan that needs to be pursued, not taking on roads here and digging underground parking there, because, in my opinion, those things are going to be obsolete almost immediately when we have to get all the cars out of the park," he said.

Loss of national historic landmark status would mean the park would no longer be included in certain tourist brochures and would would not be eligible for some grants.

Qualcomm founder and billionaire philanthropist Irwin Jacobs originally proposed plans to make over Balboa Park for its 2015 centennial celebration. Mayor Jerry Sanders backs the plan and an Environmental Impact Report on the project has been released.

I disagree with your written statement that "the City Council has indicated approval of the project". When they voted on the MOU ( which was later declared illegal by a judge) they were all clear to state that this was not an approval of the project, just a chance to let it see how it would go, and to not hinder the fundraising. Still waiting for an update on the fundraising, apparently the total cost has gone up another $5 million. I was dismayed with David Marshall's implications about Alana Coons not having the document text in front of her. She did not know the program was even going to be aired until after it had started, thus no time to prepare.

Although it has been difficult to distinguish any clear sky between this private project and the city. David Marshall is not the city of San Diego's preservation consultant for the Plaza de Panama project. He is an employee of the Plaza de Panama team.